Bodegas Caudalia, Xi'ipal Syrah Parcela La Celada 2015
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92
Vinous
Vivid purple. Powerful black/blue fruit, licorice, smoked meat and floral pastille aromas are complemented by sneaky vanilla and olive nuances. Sappy and nicely concentrated, offering bitter cherry, blueberry and fruitcake flavors that are sweetened by suggestions of vanilla and cola. Shows strong, spicy lift on a very long, gently tannic finish that echoes the olive and blue fruit notes. (Fermented in concrete tanks and aged for a year in used, 400-liter French oak barrels.) Drink 2021-2029.
I’ve traveled to Navarra sporadically for more than 20 years, and confess to being somewhat surprised that the region hasn’t managed to make a bigger dent in the American market. Starting after my first visit in 1997, I guessed that the widespread usage of French vine varieties would help Navarra gain traction in the USA, but events have proved me wrong. Be that as it may, my qualitative evaluations are definitely better than my commercial predictions (which is why it is a good thing I’m a reviewer rather than an importer!), and there’s no doubt that is a superb wine being offered at a price well below its value in relation to fine Syrah from anywhere – including the northern Rhône. Very deeply pigmented and quite dark in color, it shows expressive aromatic notes of violets and black raspberries, followed by delicious, rich fruit with just the right touch of spicy oak and lots of supple, fine-grained tannins. Gutsy but still classy, this is terrific Syrah.
As I mentioned last year, the Xi’ipal Syrah from Bodegas Caudalia is from the vineyard of “La Celada”, which is a very stony terroir situated at five hundred meters above sea level. The vineyard is farmed organically (though not yet certified) and the wine is fermented with indigenous yeasts in cement tanks, with the malolactic fermentation taking place in French puncheons. The 2015 is ripe and classy on the nose, offering up scents of black raspberries, black cherries, pepper, lovely meatiness, stony soil tones, woodsmoke and a nice touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and classy, with a good core, fine soil signature, ripe tannins and a long, complex and gently warm finish. This too is 14.5 percent alcohol, but carries it quite well. 2020-2040
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